A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara, and Malabar

A three-volume survey, published in 1807, describing a large area of southern India shortly after it came under British control.

In 1800 the East India Company surgeon Francis Buchanan (1762–1829) was appointed to survey the kingdom of Mysore in southern India, which had recently come under British control. His three-volume report was published in 1807. Volume 1 covers his journey from Madras to Sira, focusing especially on agriculture.In 1800 Lord Wellesley, the British Governor General of India, appointed the surgeon and botanist Francis Buchanan (1762–1829) to conduct a survey of the kingdom of Mysore in the south of the country, which had recently been annexed by the East India Company. In the resulting three-volume report, first published in 1807, Buchanan (later known as Francis Hamilton) records the physical and human geography of this large area of southern India. He describes the agriculture, arts and commerce, indigenous religions and customs, natural history and society and antiquities of the regions through which he travelled, and illustrates his text with a map and engravings. Volume 1 covers the early part of Buchanan's journey, from the British stronghold at Madras through Bangalore to Sira, an important strategic location for several earlier rulers. Buchanan focuses particularly on the agriculture of the region, noting the different varieties of rice under cultivation.